1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a game of chance that can be played in a casino, and more particularly, to a modified version of a five-card stud poker game.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for years. A deck of cards, a playing surface, and a few participants are all that is needed to provide a recreational few hours away from the stress and strain of daily life. Five-card poker is a game that almost everyone knows how to play, and many games have developed using the same basic priority or rank order of winning poker hands: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, and high card(s) in hand.
For one reason or another, it has been difficult to adapt the rules of poker to a casino table game in which each player plays against the house. In a conventional poker game, a plurality of players are each dealt a poker hand by one player who acts as the dealer. The player with the highest hand based on the established priority of poker hands, wins. Each player in turn deals a hand as the game continues. It is not unknown to introduce wagering into the game, generally through the use of tokens or poker chips, which may or may not have a monetary value.
Many places, both within the United States and abroad, have legalized gaming and poker is one of the games of chance that is offered in both casinos and card rooms. In a conventional card room poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing cards, the table and chairs, but does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player's bet (the "rake") that compensates the house for providing the facilities to the players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time, e.g., one-half hour. Each player is competing not against the house, but against all the other players, with the highest hand winning the total of all the wagers made on that hand.
Many people do not like to play card room poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather than from their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted.
Card room poker also does not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands. While a royal flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total wager than he would have collected if all he needed to beat the other players was three of a kind.